Oct 27, 2009 2:14 pm US/Pacific
Eating For Beauty And Youth
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Eat colorful fruits and vegetables.
AP
Anti-aging products and diets are all the rage, but let's make something clear right now, adding years on the calendar doesn't have to mean that our beauty is diminishing in any way or form. Looking and feeling our best happens at every age – when we take care of ourselves. There is nothing wrong with adapting habits and rituals that may potentially help erase the effects of time that have been, let's say, less kind. A healthy lifestyle and a youthful attitude are two of the best youth elixirs. Choosing and eating the right foods can help us feel terrific, look fantastic, and maybe even live a little bit longer. Here is a look at our top five healthy habits to retain that youthful, healthy, sexy glow:
1. Eat a rainbow
Think of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow. Red tomatoes, orange squash, yellow bananas, green broccoli, blue blueberries, and purple grapes (and eggplant). What gives all of these foods their bright colors are antioxidant pigments. Antioxidants tackle free-radicals that accelerate the aging process. Antioxidants in berries, for example, can help protect our eyes from diseases of aging including macular degeneration. Antioxidant compounds in broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower can help prevent certain cancers as well as keeping wrinkles at bay.
2. Go green
Drinking green tea, also very high in antioxidants (catechins), is one of the best things we can do in terms of health, longevity, and beauty. Drinking green tea may have a positive effect against skin cancer and can decrease the risk of developing high blood pressure and other heart disease risk factors.
3. Cover your essentials
Essential fatty acids (EFA's) can reduce the risk of sun- and age-related skin damage. Specifically omega-3 fats from wild salmon and other deep sea, cold water fish are the fats we need to make sure we are getting. Also, monounsaturated fats in nuts, seeds, olive oil have been shown protective against heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and arthritis so if we are not getting enough in our diet we need to think about supplementation.
4. Remember Resveratrol
Resveratrol is one of the most popular supplements out there in terms of "anti-aging" claims. Cosmetic companies are putting it in products and the natural food store shelves are starting to overflow with resveratrol supplements. Resveratrol has some good research to support some of the hype. It may reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, and it may also help ease inflammation in the body. Red wine, purple grape juice, red and purple grapes are a few of the highest sources of resveratrol in the diet.
5. Brush Your Best
There's nothing like a great big, healthy smile that adds the same beauty. Taking excellent care of our teeth and gums is a must. That means flossing every day if not twice daily and brushing after every meal – soft toothbrush, please.
6. Avoid smoking and excess alcohol
These two habits will definitely add years and lines to our face yet take years from our lives. Best never to start, better to quit now.
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